


look after you

by jacklavigne



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Lena Luthor Doesn't Know Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor is not Supergirl's biggest fan, Slow Burn, and it comes with a lot of angst, and oh boy will she find out, but she does love Kara Danvers, she's still a bit angry, so strap in kids, wait until she finds out they are one and the same, yeah that happens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-16 14:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19319827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacklavigne/pseuds/jacklavigne
Summary: It’s 3.47am when Lena’s phone blares with a message, personalised Darth Vader theme and all (because what’s life without a bit of dark humour?) and reminds her again that her beloved brother is also unfortunately deranged and serving thirty-six consecutive life sentences in a maximum-security prison. As if she could ever forget.Or, he was supposed to be serving thirty-six life sentences in prison. Apparently, right at this moment, he was missing.And he wants Lena dead, of course. So, who is she to turn down Supergirl's offer of protection, even if spending a large amount of time in the superhero's presence is the last thing that she wants? Though, she really wishes the rumours about them being in a secret relationship hadn't happened in response.or,lex luthor escapes from prison and wants lena and supergirl dead. supergirl offers herself as protection, but things escalate when the press starts making assumptions about their relationship. lena goes along with it, to draw out lex, while quietly mourning the fact that her best friend now believes that she's in love with supergirl when she's actually very much in love with kara herself.





	look after you

**Author's Note:**

> Take note that while I have invested a bit of time researching these characters, I am in no way up to date with the show. In fact, I have only ever watched one episode and it was only for the angst. This will follow up to the end of season three, though it is not completely canon compliant. Lena never got involved with James. Also, Argo City does not exist, which means Kara never reconnected with her mother, because it doesn't fit in with the story I want to tell.  
> Enjoy the ride, kids.

_When you think you’re all alone, I’ll wrap you up and I’ll take you home,_

_No matter what you’re going through, I will look after you._

  * __Look After You, Aron Wright__



 

 

It’s 3.47am when Lena’s phone blares with a message, personalised Darth Vader theme and all (because what’s life without a bit of dark humour?) and reminds her again that her beloved brother is also unfortunately deranged and serving thirty-six consecutive life sentences in a maximum-security prison. As if she could ever forget.

Or, he was _supposed_ to be serving thirty-six life sentences in prison. Apparently, right at this moment, he was missing.

_Unknown Number:_

_LEX LUTHOR WAS REPORTED MISSING FROM HIS CELL AT THE HOURLY CHECK IN._

_Unknown Number:_

_CONFIRMED THAT LEX LUTHOR HAS ESCAPED FROM STRYKER ISLAND MAXIUM SECURITY PRISON._

Well, fuck. It wasn’t like Lena had a huge appreciation for government facilities to begin with, but this was a whole new level of fuck up. If the DEO could contain an array of dangerous alien species with a multitude of powers, then why couldn’t the government find a way to stop one single man from walking out of prison as if he owned the place.

He probably did, Lena thought to herself as she sent out a high-risk alert to her security team before rolling out of bed. It wasn’t like it was difficult, after all, Lena had several guards from Stryker Island on her own payroll, if only to receive updates about her brother’s whereabouts at all times of the day, hence this message in particular. For security reasons, mostly, after the last three or four assassination attempts (lena doesn’t bother keeping count anymore) and for any signs that her brother was planning anything truly nefarious.

Lena is in a bulletproof car that she designed herself, heading towards the DEO by 4:03am and she considers the money well spent, despite this small mishap, if only for the heads up she likely otherwise wouldn’t have received until Lex was on her doorstep.

But even with all of her money and all of her connections to secret government agencies and Supergirl herself, it seems Lena can’t inspire the same kind of fucked up loyalty her brother does, even less than an hour out of prison. And when her driver, Jeremy, who has been with her since she moved to National City two years ago, pulls over on the side of the road and pulls out a gun, Lena isn’t really surprised. She’s annoyed and frustrated and she’s so fucking _angry_ that she almost forgets to be scared, but she’s not _surprised_. Lena Luthor being betrayed again, how shocking.

“Nothing personal, Miss Luthor.” Jeremy says, looking almost apologetic, and fuck him for feeling anything when he’s got a gun pointed at her face. Like Lena cares if he feels _bad_ about it. “At least, not on my end. Your brother, well, that’s a different story.”

There’s a split second of hesitation before he pulls the trigger. Which is just enough time for the driver side door to be torn off its hinges with a screech of metal and for Jeremy to simply disappear with nothing but a high-pitched yelp.

Well, fuck, Lena thinks for the second time in less than half an hour, heart slamming painfully against her chest. Outside the car, she can hear the very, very brief sounds of a struggle and Lena takes this time to breathe in deep, pressing the palms of her hands against her eyes until all she can feel is the pressure. It’s only a few seconds, but that’s all Lena needs before she’s sitting back in her seat, seemingly calm and collected, just in time for Supergirl to pop her head inside the car, her face the picture of concern. “Lena?”

“I’m fine.” Lena bites out and fuck, maybe not so calm after all. She should be used to this by now, the constant death threats and attempts on her life. And yet. “I’m fine.”

Supergirl doesn’t look convinced and Lena just- doesn’t _care_. The blonde’s expression is all kinds of worried, as if it means something to her personally, as if Lena _does_ and that just makes the feeling in her chest sharpen. Here is Supergirl, a literal caped superhero, who barely knows Lena outside a few brief if intense interactions, giving a fuck about her and yet Lex, her own damn _brother_ -

Lena cuts off that thought before it can spiral, because it’s not really about that. Lex sends someone to kill her every other week, to the point where it’s almost friendly now, in a fucked-up way. It’s a very Luthor thought, but at least it means she knows that Lex is thinking about her. And when you think about it, all the wide variety of ways Lex tried to end Superman- he sends Lena a man with a gun? Not very creative. Or original. Someone tries to shoot Lena at least once a month, for one reason or another, and they always fail. Lex knows this. If he _really_ wanted to kill her, Lena reasons, he could have an explosive planted in her office, or have someone slip poison into her food. Something harder to detect or protect against, at the very least.

She tries not to think about what that means, but she can’t help it. Sometimes, she wonders if Lex is trying to send her a message, in his own fucked up way. In darker moments, Lena wonders if Lex just doesn’t believe she’s worth the trouble.

Anyway, her brother trying to kill her again isn’t the problem. Not entirely, anyway.

The problem is Supergirl’s goddamn face, all soft and worried. It’s that tiny little furrow between her brows, the downward pull of her lips. The way her hands are raised, seemingly of their own volition, halfway to reach out and comfort. It’s the way that Supergirl seems to know that none of it would be welcomed and yet she just can’t help herself.

And it’s not welcomed, it’s _not._ She knows that it’s stupid and petty and she knows she’s putting herself at a disadvantage, being at odds with National City’s hero, but.

She just doesn’t _trust_ her.

Ever since the kryptonite incident, things have been different; a new tension filling the space between them where before there had only been cautious comradery. Lena knows that it’s her own fault. Not because she believes she was in the wrong in making the kryptonite because she still doesn’t, she _can’t_ , not when Sam was involved. It’s not about the lies that were unearthed or the ones still lingering in the shadows (supergirl’s real identity, the formula lena still has hidden in her lab).

It’s about how Supergirl reacted, to _Lena._

Because Lena, Lena had respected Supergirl _so much_. It wasn’t like she had a crush or anything so inane, but Lena sometimes felt as if Supergirl truly _saw_ her as so few others did. Supergirl had always believed in her, despite their family’s history, despite every reason not to in the beginning and Lena had been so grateful for it. And she thought she had proved herself, finally, after all they had been through together. After the Medusa virus and her mother’s trial and the Daxamite invasion, Lena had thought that things could be different between them. No feuds, no bad blood, just the two of them working together to make the world a better place. Maybe they couldn’t ever be best friends (how does one even become friends with a superhero?) but at the very least, she thought they could trust each other.

But when Supergirl found out about Lena helping Sam, about her having created kryptonite to help control the World Killer that inhabited her friend’s body- it was as if none of it had ever mattered.

 _That’s not a good question for a_ Luthor _to ask someone in my family._

And Supergirl had apologised of course; she had taken the blame on her own back and offered Lena an olive branch in an attempt to mend things between them, but Lena found she couldn’t accept it. The damage was already done. The foundation that they had spent two years carefully building had crumbled and Lena couldn’t find it in herself to fix it.

And what did she owe Supergirl anyway? Lena has never actually done anything _wrong_. She’s never committed any serious crimes or hurt anyone (that didn’t deserve it) or done anything to give Supergirl the reason to think that she would. And yet, as soon as there was even the slightest possibility of evil lurking in Lena’s shadow, Supergirl had jumped on it without a second thought. As if all the things she said before, about how she believed Lena was _good-_ well, turns out that Lena was no different than any other Luthor after all.

As if Lena would change her mind after everything she has been through- like she would give up everything she has achieved, just for a bit of revenge against the Girl of Steel? And for what purpose? For a mother that had never truly accepted or even loved her? A brother who had been so twisted by hatred that he may as well be a different person? Please.

Loving Lex might be ingrained in her very bones, but Lena wasn’t about to go along with genocide in order to keep him.

Still, despite all of that, she does take the hand that Supergirl offers her to get out of the car, because she was almost just shot and Supergirl is bulletproof, _hello,_ and Lena is nothing if not civil. Even if she doesn’t trust her, Lena can still appreciate the fact that Supergirl stepped in to save her life, again. She can be grateful as well as irritated; compartmentalising is in her DNA.

“How did you know?” Lena asks as they step away from the car, smiling slightly when Supergirl only stares back in confusion. “About my driver?”

“Oh, I didn’t really.” Supergirl says, looking embarrassed as she waves a hand vaguely towards her ears, which have gone somewhat red. “I was listening out for you, you know, since the moment I heard that your brother escaped from prison, just in case.”

Supergirl shrugs her broad shoulders as they glance down at Jeremy, who is lying on the side of the road, unconscious and likely to wake up with a massive headache. The gun meant to kill her ceases to exist, just scrap pieces of metal littered over the ground, along with the car door which is scattered in different parts about twenty feet down the street.

“Well, thank you.” Lena offers sincerely, if somewhat stiffly, crossing her arms over her chest against the chill and turning her head away so that she can ignore the way Supergirl’s face lights up at her words. There’s something about the way she smiles when it’s just the two of them, so open and yet shy, that Lena just- hates. Yes. She hates it.

“No problem, Lena.” Supergirl says brightly, practically bouncing in place as a police car pulls up behind them, along with an inconspicuous black van that Lena rightly assumes belongs to the DEO when Alex Danvers steps out from the passenger seat.

“It’s gonna be one of those days, isn’t it?” Alex sighs, hands on her hips as she stares down at Lena’s would be assassin with disdain. She looks immaculate in her uniform, considering the time of day, but her eyes are tired as they gaze over the scene. A police officer is already walking towards them, likely looking for a statement and Lena can’t help but sigh as well.

“Story of my life, Director Danvers.”

 

\--

 

The DEO is uncharacteristically busy, given the fact that the sun hasn’t even risen yet, but Lena guesses that’s standard procedure when the country’s most prolific murderer is on the loose. Not to mention the fact that his vendetta is against their very own caped crusader, who currently sits a seat down from Lena, leaving the space between them both empty and yet full of tension. Lena can’t help but watch from the corner of her eye, with some strange fascination, as Supergirl chews rapidly through three large bags of red vines with a kind of bizarre, nervous energy in the space of three minutes. It’s almost calming, to be honest, it reminds Lena of-

“All right.” Alex Danvers calls from the head of the small conference room that they’ve commandeered for this meeting. Lena only knows half the people in the room from her previous visits, like Winn Schott and the former director, J’onn. The others are a mixture of DEO agents that Lena’s never met and one woman in uniform, who Lena recognises from photographs as Lois Lane’s younger sister. How strange. “So, Lex Luthor escaped from prison an estimated two hours ago and his whereabouts are currently unknown. The entire country is on high alert, all train stations, bus stations and airports have been notified, but we don’t think he’s planning on leaving the country. We have good reason to believe that Lex might be heading here, to National City-“

“Why?” One of the DEO agents ask from the back of the room, receiving a deadly glare from Alex and stares from everyone else. “Why come here instead of going to Metropolis? It’s Superman he’s always been after.”

“Because,” Alex grinds out, very obviously trying not to look at Lena, even though it seems like no one else seems to have the same constraint.

“Because he wants to kill me.” Lena says, so Alex doesn’t have to. _Or see me,_ Lena thinks to herself, ignoring Supergirl’s eyes burning into the side of her face. Several agents shift uncomfortably at the bluntness, while others eye her with suspicion, likely at the blasé delivery. Lena doesn’t care about those people, she’s more interested in the ones who don’t react at all. They’re the ones Lena wants to keep her eye on.

“Right.” Alex says, clearing her throat uncomfortably in the sudden silence of the room. “An attempt was made on Miss Luthor’s life less than an hour after Lex was confirmed to have escaped, so we can reasonably assume that he will try again, maybe even in person. With Lena out of the way, Lex would have a much better chance of accessing all of L Corps resources and using them to his advantage and we cannot allow it. He’s already too smart and dangerous; with that kind of power at his fingertips, he’d be near unstoppable.”

“Also, Lena’s life is important, so you know, that too.” Supergirl speaks up around a mouthful of candy, making Lena simultaneously feel warm and fight the urge to roll her eyes. Alex does the latter for her, giving Supergirl a look as if to say, _obviously,_ though her expression is more fond than exasperated.

“Right. As for other reasons as to why he might come to National City; Lex has already gone up a dozen times against Superman and lost. He might be insane, but Lex Luthor isn’t stupid. He won’t try and fight Superman again until he feels he has a better chance of winning, and a good way of weakening Superman and instilling fear in everyone else would be to take down his cousin, the Girl of Steel.”

The words appear almost physically painful for Alex, who has no problem now looking at the object of conversation, who is staring back at her just as solemnly. Something seems to transpire between the two of them in that moment, and while Lena had known the two women were close, she can’t help but be curious about the intensity of the emotions between them. Not for the first time, she wonders if there’s more to their relationship than simple co-workers.

“But we are not going to let that happen.” Alex states firmly, holding eye contact with Supergirl the entire time before seeming to come back to herself and the room. “We have an idea, vague as it is, as to what Lex wants, though we won’t know for certain until he makes a move. Either way, we need to start making plans to prevent him from succeeding.”

“But what can we do, reasonably, without knowing what _he’s_ going to do?” Winn pipes up thoughtfully and judging by the expressions of the rest of the room, he’s not alone in his thoughts.

“We don’t need to know _exactly_ what he’s going to do,” Lena says, ignoring the sceptical looks sent her way. “We just need to make it as hard as possible for him to achieve his plans until he can be caught, whatever they may be. For instance, I have already installed higher security on all L Corp properties since before I reached the DEO this morning. I’ve put into place lockdown procedures and sent out teams to every known hideout that Lex has within the States. I’ve also compiled a list of every one of Lex’s known associates and any other person that I can think of that he might reach out to and I have ordered my security team to keep watch on the most likely suspects.” Here, Lena pauses thoughtfully, going through her mental checklist. “Oh, and I have also notified the prison and had my mother sent into solitary confinement to be under constant supervision until Lex is captured.”

Lena crosses her arms over her chest as everyone openly stares at her, with expressions varying mostly between shock and suspicion. Only Director Danvers seems mildly impressed, while Supergirl looks downright proud. Lena ignores them all. If they thought she was going to sit on the sidelines and twiddle her thumbs until Lex was caught, they were delusional.

“Okay.” Lucy Lane says, breaking the heavy silence. Her eyes linger on Lena appraisingly, though Lena can’t detect any malice in her gaze, only mild curiosity. “I, for one, would love to see that list of known associates, little Luthor. We can compare notes later. Until then, we still need to make plans to protect Lex’s mostly likely targets. Supergirl, for instance, and Miss Luthor herself. So, our first priority right now is protecting them, at least until we have more information or until Lex makes his intentions known.”

“I agree.” Alex says, placing her hands on her hips. “I already have an idea for that, actually. The DEO is obviously the safest place until Lex can be caught and- “

“No.” Lena cuts Danvers off before she can finish her sentence, voice firm. She shakes her head when Supergirl opens to mouth, likely to argue, already resolute in her decision. “I appreciate the thought, but I’m not staying here.”

“Miss Luthor,” J’onn says diplomatically. “Lex has made it clear that he wants you dead. If you refuse the DEO’s protection- “

“I’m not _refusing_ the DEO’s protection,” Lena replies calmly. “I’m simply stating that I am not going to hide within the DEO until Lex is caught. Not only will that make me seem weak and scared, it will do the exact opposite of what we are trying to achieve. Without me at L Corp, my company is wide open for any attack Lex may have devised and there is only so much I can do from within the DEO. Not to mention my absence will be well known to the public and likely instil panic and fear, which is also exactly what Lex wants. So, thank you, but no.”

“That is true,” Alex agrees grudgingly, though it’s pretty clear from her expression that she doesn’t like it. “I suppose we could assign some agents to L Corp, in case Lex does attempt to confront you in person.”

“I could do it.” Supergirl bursts out quickly, startling everyone in the room, her blue eyes jumping back and forth between Alex and Lena. And Lena’s not sure who likes that suggestion less between the two of them, though Lena manages better than Alex to keep that knowledge off her face.

“That isn’t necessary,” Lena assures the blonde, trying not to let her displeasure at the idea show, though she’s not quite sure if she manages it. Her voice sounds strained even to her own ears. “I have my own security team and I assure you that they are well trained. I will be fine.”

“Plus, Lex wants both of you,” Alex adds. “It would only be making it easier for him if you were kept together.”

“Yeah, but that’s the whole point.” Supergirl argues vehemently, gesturing between herself and Lena. “He wants both of us. But it’s not just Lex! He’s got a bunch of people working for him, people who might already be close to Lena if tonight was any indication. You _could_ keep us apart to make it harder for him, but it’s not as if he can’t plan two attacks to happen to hit us simultaneously. At least if I’m with Lena, or somewhere nearby, I can protect both of us at the same time.” Here, she pauses to look directly at Lena, her blue eyes painfully sincere. “I’m sure that your security team is very good, and maybe they can protect you, but what if you need protection from _them?_ Even if they aren’t under Lex’s control, which I hope they’re not, they can’t stop bullets and it only takes one. Not to mention, I can kind of fly at the speed of light, so I can get you out of any dangerous situation faster than anyone else.”

Well, it was hard to argue with that logic, Lena thought wryly after several long moments picking apart Supergirl’s speech. Not that she didn’t still want to _try_. She turned away from Supergirl’s pleading eyes with a sigh to catch Alex’s gaze, expecting disapproval, only to feel herself deflate when she was met with Alex’s conflicted expression. Alex looked even less happy than Lena felt, but it seemed as if she couldn’t think of any way to reasonably deny Supergirl’s request. It also seemed as if the director might actually _agree_ with the superhero, though she seemed to hate herself for it.

Well, fuck, Lena thinks to herself for the third time that day, before the sun has even begun to rise, pointedly ignoring the way Supergirl sits back in her seat with a pleased expression.

 

\--

 

An hour later, Lena is being escorted out of the DEO by her own personal superhero bodyguard. Despite being all but resigned to this new fixture in her life for the foreseeable future, Lena can’t help but scowl as she stalks through the lobby and into the DEO car park. Her irritation is only made worse by Supergirl herself, who strolls along beside her, practically skipping with satisfaction.

“Stop that.” Lena can’t help but snap without even bothering to look up at her new shadow. Supergirl quickly adjusts her expression, losing the smug smile, though there is no hiding the joy practically radiating from her pores like sunlight.

“Sorry.” Supergirl replies, though she doesn’t actually sound sorry at all. “I just can’t believe I got my own way for once.”

Lena doesn’t know how to process that information, since Supergirl is literally one of the most powerful beings on the planet, capable of doing almost anything she wants at any given time. It’s strange to think that anyone ever really tries to deny her anything, given that they couldn’t really stop her either way. Even stranger to think that Supergirl might let them.

Though, this is also the same woman who had allowed Lena to barter with her for twenty-five minutes, regarding this new situation between them, so what does Lena know? Not to mention that Supergirl had given in quite quickly to the majority of Lena’s demands, seemingly happy enough that Lena was letting her within ten feet of her at all.

“Yes, well, as long as you don’t forget the rules.”

“Don’t interrupt any important business meetings unless absolutely necessary,” Supergirl ticks off her fingers as they reach Lena’s car, cape fluttering around them almost playfully. It makes Lena scowl even harder. “Don’t listen in on any of your phone calls or private conversations. No hovering around L Corp during business hours, outside of our designated check in times and don’t ignore my regular duties towards the city. Though I still believe that keeping you safe should be considered as one of my regular duties, since you are a citizen of the city I’ve sworn to protect.”

“Good enough, I suppose.” Lena turns her head away when Supergirl flashes her a bright smile, opening her car door. “As long as those rules stay intact, we should be fine.”

Lena’s about to slip inside, only to pause at the last moment when she notices the blonde fidgeting, her lips pursed as if she wants to say something. All it takes is one finely raised eyebrow before the superhero breaks.

“Look, Lena, I know that this wasn’t your idea,” Supergirl starts, fiddling with the sleeve of her uniform and smiling somewhat lopsidedly when Lena snorts softly in agreement. “I know it wasn’t what you wanted at all actually and I get it. I’m not going to ask you to trust me or anything, at least not any more than you already are, I just- “Supergirl pauses in her ramble, her face twisting up briefly before she sighs. “I know things have been weird between us lately and I know it’s not easy for you, giving up your privacy like this, especially to me, but I promise you that I won’t take advantage of it. I want you to feel comfortable, as much as you can given the situation, and if there’s a way for that to happen, something I can do to make this easier, just- tell me, please. Your safety is important, to the city and to me, but I don’t want to do anything that will make things worse between us, so. I guess I just wanted you to know that, before all of this starts.”

Supergirl looks somewhat dejected after she finishes, staring down at her boots and avoiding Lena’s gaze and Lena… Lena isn’t really sure what she feels.

“Thank you,” she says, for lack of anything better to say, and finds that she means it. Supergirl is right on all accounts; this isn’t what she wanted and she’s not entirely comfortable with it, but she can’t deny that she’s still grateful for it, regardless. Supergirl is putting herself at risk to keep Lena safe and no matter what tension is between them, she isn’t about to forget that. “I appreciate that. Now, let’s just hope that we both survive this.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you.” Supergirl assures her, with an intense expression, seemingly unaware that Lena was joking. Mostly. And Lena can’t help but smile this time, shaking her head as she slips inside her car.

“Yes, I know.” And out of the corner of her eye, just before she closes the door, Lena can see Supergirl smile back.

 

\--

 

Despite her slightly abnormal morning, Lena still finds herself arriving to work at 6:30am and has already finished replying to the majority of her emails by the time she heads into the lobby. She is unsurprised to find Jess already waiting for her, tapping diligently away on her keyboard as Lena exits the elevator, and she can’t help but smile at the coffee that’s immediately offered to her upon her arrival at her assistant’s desk.

“Hello, Jess,” Lena says warmly, chin pressed against the lid of her cup as steam curls around her nose. The smell of the coffee is already doing wonders for her mood and she is once again very grateful for her assistant. “And thank you.”

“Good morning, Miss Luthor,” Jess answers as she stands to follow Lena into her office, already bringing up Lena’s schedule on her tablet. “Though, is it still a good morning when you were almost assassinated?”

“I’m still alive, so.” Lena says with a smile as she sits behind her desk, placing her coffee down carefully before turning her head to look out of her balcony window. The sun is finally beginning to rise, painting the sky a pale pink, a promise of a beautiful day. Lena can only hope that it lasts. “Plus, it’s been almost a month since the sniper situation, so we were due for something.”

The look Jess gives her is unimpressed at best, though there is a slight smile pulling at the corner of her assistant’s lips, so Lena takes that as a win. “So, what do you have for me today?”

“Well, I’ve sent out emails you requested to make sure all safety protocols and procedures have been put into place, which security has confirmed.” Jess begins, scrolling through her notes. “Ashley from HR has asked Matthew from security to organise a safety meeting with all L Corp employees to go through emergency procedures, including lockdown, emergency exits and safe rooms. Lucas from tech also called and said he was able to track the extra payments in Jeremy’s bank account, but they only led to an off-shore account under the name of Oscar Wilde. He’s sent the information through to Alex Danvers as requested, who just confirmed that the account has been locked down and is under further investigation.” A few more taps on her screen. “You have a phone conference at eight, a meeting with your German investors at ten, and James Olsen has requested your presence in a meeting at CatCo this afternoon. Also, Kara Danvers emailed a moment ago to confirm your lunch plans for twelve o’clock.”

“Excellent.” Lena smiles, pleased with the news and the knowledge of a busy day ahead of her. “Please call Mr Olsen for me and confirm my attendance at the meeting and let Ashley know that she take Matthew for as long as she needs.”

“Of course, Miss Luthor,” Jess says, still tapping away on her tablet, though she does take a pause to look up and give Lena a small smile. “Is there anything else you need?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Lena muses, tapping her fingers against her desk thoughtfully, before suddenly remembering the newest addition to her routine. The one that wore a cape and flew around in a very short skirt. “Though, you should be aware that you might be seeing a little bit more of Supergirl. Director Danvers has deemed it necessary that I have a bit of extra protection with Lex’s escape, so don’t be surprised if you see her in the office every now and then. We’ve organised a check in schedule that I can email to you, just so you know when to expect her.”

“I figured as much,” Jess comments, smiling almost slyly when Lena raises her eyebrow in question. “She’s flown past the window three times already since we’ve been in here.”

With a scowl, Lena twists around to face the balcony, just in time to see a flash of blue and red as Supergirl zips away from the building, fast as a speeding bullet.

 

\--

 

“Breaking News: Lex Luthor has escaped from Stryker Island Maximum Security Prison. Reports say that Luthor was reported missing at approximately three thirty this morning and his whereabouts are currently unknown. It is yet to be determined as to how exactly Luthor managed to escape, but a guard by the name of Ryan Carson has also gone missing since the incident and is believed to have been involved. The FBI have assured the public that they are searching diligently for the missing inmate, alongside Superman himself, who has been patrolling over Metropolis ever since the news broke this morning.”

Lena hears the door open just as Superman’s face flashes across her television screen, his expression calm as he assures the reporter that Lex will be found, under any means necessary. She turns off the screen with a scowl, which softens immediately when she turns around to find her best friend closing her office door behind her. “Kara.”

“Lena.” The blonde says somewhat breathlessly, dropping a bag of takeout on the coffee table before hurrying across the room. Lena barely has a moment to process her friend’s arrival before two strong arms are wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her forward into a tight hug. Despite the suddenness of the moment, Lena finds her body relaxing immediately into the embrace, pressing her nose against her friend’s neck and inhaling the clean, warm smell that is Kara. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” Lena assures her, though she makes no move to pull away from the hug until Kara finally loosens her hold after several long moments. She can’t help but be endeared by Kara’s somewhat frazzled appearance, reaching up to straighten the glasses on her best friend’s nose and outright grinning at the blush she receives in return. “Better now that you’re here.”

“I would have come sooner but work has been crazy with, well, you know,” Kara gestures helplessly towards Lena’s now blank television with a grimace and Lena feels her own expression tense in acknowledgement. Kara brightens quickly, as usual, a smile spreading across her face as she leads Lena towards the couch. “Though, I did hear that you have less to worry about now then you did this morning, with your new security detail.”

Lena can’t help but smile at Kara’s enthusiasm, even as she rolls her eyes. She thinks back to her most recent check in with Supergirl, who had landed on her balcony at eleven am, as scheduled. The superhero had done a quick superspeed scan of Lena’s office, before offering a hasty thumbs up and darting away before Lena could call her out for hovering. The instance in the morning hadn’t been the last and Lena had noticed the blur that sped past her window what seemed like every few minutes since. She couldn’t help but feel grateful for Supergirl’s dedication, but she was also irritated that her rules had lasted less than an hour before they’d been broken.

“Yes, I suppose I do feel safer with Supergirl around, though I didn’t expect for her to be so…enthusiastic,” Lena admits with a wry grimace, glancing towards the balcony which is for now, completely clear of the flicker of Supergirl’s red cape. Kara makes a small noise of confusion as she shoves a mouthful of chow mein into her mouth and Lena smiles as she resists the urge to smooth the small crinkle between her best friend’s brows. “It’s fine, truly. I did have one small moment when I thought- but it doesn’t matter.”

“What is it?” Kara asks, putting her food to the side in a show of great sacrifice and resting her warm palm on Lena’s thigh. Lena can only hope that Kara can’t hear the way Lena’s heart pounds in her chest at the touch. Really hopes that Supergirl doesn’t race over to her office, thinking that Lena might be under attack when she inevitably hears it herself. “You know you can tell me anything, Lena.”

The brunette bites her lip before offering her friend a self-deprecating smile. “I guess I couldn’t help but wonder if she has ulterior motives. That she isn’t just watching out for me, but _watching_ me, to make sure that I’m not somehow involved in this. I know it’s very Luthor of me,” she assures Kara when the blonde looks like she’s going to protest, fingers tightening around Lena’s thigh in a way that is very distracting. “And I know I’m probably wrong, but, I wouldn’t put it past the DEO to want to keep tabs on me during all of this. And Supergirl did offer her protection awfully fast, almost as fast as your sister gave in to the idea.”

The expressions on Kara’s face makes Lena feel so absurdly warm, an intoxicating mixture of concern and frustration. Her lips are all twisted up as if she’s trying to stop an immediate denial from escaping her mouth and the furrow between her brow is so deep now that Lena can no longer resist the urge to smooth it out. She presses her thumb against the spot and revels in the look of exasperated fondness she receives in return as Kara leans briefly into the touch with a sigh.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Kara states sincerely before pulling away and picking her food back up with a huff. “Even if you might not always believe it, you _are_ good, Lena. I know that and I’m sure Supergirl and the DEO know that too. Golly, I never knew you were so cynical.”

“Yes, you did.” Lena says with a smirk, feeling truly okay for the first time since she found out her brother had escaped from prison and was likely going to try and kill her again. Which is exactly what he _had_ done and inevitably will try to do again.

“Well, sure,” Kara agrees, chewing thoughtfully before turning to give Lena a soft smile. “I guess I really just wish that you saw yourself the way that I see you. I wish everyone did.”

Lena can only return Kara’s smile, unable to find any words to describe to Kara how much the sentiment means to her. Her heart feels three times bigger in her chest, pressing so hard against her ribcage that it almost hurts, and she can only think, _I’m in love with this woman,_ even as she watches Kara fit a dangerous amount of Chinese food into her mouth.

The thought isn’t a new one, but it’s enough to make Lena avert her gaze and focus on her own meal. The feeling in her chest still takes her by surprise sometimes; it had built so slowly over the course of her friendship with Kara that she had barely even noticed it. Even now that she knows what it is, understands why her heart stutters in her chest every time she looks at her best friend, or her skin tingles at every touch, she spends so much time ignoring it that sometimes it manages to catch her off guard with its intensity. And she does ignore it; she puts those feelings away in a box and pushes them back into the darkest corner of her brain, because it isn’t _important._ What is important is Kara and her friendship, which means more to Lena than anything. She’s not about to put that in danger just for a chance at romance with her, even if she is the love of Lena’s life.

So, Lena offers her friend her entire focus as Kara predictably starts rambling on about work and simply basks in Kara’s company, letting the blonde’s presence fill her up with warmth.

It’s enough for Lena, just to have Kara here with her. It’s enough.

And if her heart skips a beat every time Kara laughs or she catches herself looking at her best friend’s mouth when she speaks, well, compartmentalising is in her DNA.

 

 

\--

 

It’s 7:27pm when Lena enters her apartment, several hours earlier than usual, due to the annoying insistence of one caped superhero. Kicking her heels off by the door and placing her purse on the table, Lena looks up to find the woman in question leaning lazily against her balcony and fights a scowl. It’s been a long day, made only longer by the tension pressing down on her shoulders at the knowledge that her brother could attack at any moment, making Lena almost wish that he just _would_ already, if only so she could get it over with.

It hadn’t been made better by the fact that she’d been asked to attend a meeting at CatCo, to discuss an article concerning Lex’s escape from prison, which she then had to excuse herself from, because _hello,_ she was obviously biased and why had James even invited her when he should have known she couldn’t reasonably add any input to the discussion. He worked for a media company, he should know better than anyone that Lena couldn’t be involved on an article about her own goddamn brother, for Christ sake.

To top it all off, Supergirl had spent her day flying past Lena’s window every ten minutes, after she explicitly promised that she _wouldn’t._ Lena had felt her ire rise every time she caught a glimpse of that flashing red cape, scarcely able to do anything but glare in barely repressed anger every time Supergirl stopped by for one of her check ins. Lena had to stop herself from opening her mouth every time she dropped onto the balcony, worried that if she did, all that would come out is an unintelligible yell of pure frustration.

Bathed in the deep red of the setting sun, Supergirl looks softer than normal, with an almost wistful expression on her face as she stares into the city. Lena has the annoying notion to be curious about what the cause of that emotion is, but she manages to quash the impulse to ask any questions and settles for pouring a glass of wine instead.

She has a fight to pick and she isn’t about to allow herself to be deterred, no matter her curiosity about the emotional backstory behind Supergirl’s longing gaze towards the heavens.

Wine glass in hand, Lena steps out onto the balcony, all geared up for a well-deserved argument. She opens her mouth to start giving a lecture regarding rules, when Supergirl turns to give her a soft smile, her blue eyes sad around the edges and Lena, well, she finds herself suddenly deterred. “What are you thinking about?”

Well, fuck, Lena thinks to herself, which seems to be the only consistent thought in her brain since she woke up this morning. Supergirl looks almost as surprised at the question as Lena feels, though she recovers quickly, offering Lena another small smile. Lena can only take a large gulp of wine, angry at herself for still being so curious about this woman standing beside her, despite everything. Still, she watches with rapt attention as Supergirl turns back to face the city, expression thoughtful.

“I was thinking that, if I don’t look too closely, in this light, this city almost looks like home,” Supergirl confesses quietly, almost too quiet for Lena to hear. Lena feels all the anger in her body drain out of her quite suddenly at the admission, leaving her with an empty feeling as she turns to gaze out over the city in question, which is submerged in the deep red tones of the sunset. It looks beautiful, truly, though she feels a small stab of longing to see whatever it is that Supergirl can see in her mind. A whole other world, so different to the one in front of them now; Lena wonders what that would be like.

“Like Krypton?” Lena can’t help but ask, unable to help but feel greedy for any bit of information she can get. She can’t help it, she is a scientist after all, and she’s standing next to someone that has come from an entirely different planet. She wants to know everything.

“Yes, like Krypton,” Supergirl says with a melancholy smile, her blue eyes unfocused, a million miles away from this balcony and from Lena herself. “Krypton was different of course, the buildings, the people, even the air smelt different, but when the sun sets here, I can almost imagine I’m there. That it’s Rao’s light shining down on me and my parents are just in the next room, waiting for me to join them for dinner.”

Lena looks out over the city and can’t help but think of Lex, out there, somewhere. On her darker days, she still hopes that she’ll wake up in the morning and the last three years will have been a bad dream. Lex will call her and ask her about whatever project she’s working on and he’ll talk her through it before telling her a story that will make her laugh and forget about everything else, and life will be normal again.

It’s not the same, she knows. It’s not the same as a whole world now nothing more than ash and memories, but Lena thinks she understands a little bit. She knows what it’s like to wake up every day and long for another place, another time. She knows what it’s like to miss something that you will never have again.

“So,” Supergirl breaks the silence between them, pulling Lena from her thoughts. When she turns to look at her, Lena is surprised to find the hero looking somewhat nervous as she taps her fingers restlessly against the balcony railing. “You’re angry with me.”

“I’m not.” Lena answers almost immediately and while it’s not entirely true, she doesn’t feel as angry with Supergirl as she did only a few minutes before. Her mood has changed with the thoughts of her brother and Supergirl’s admission and she doesn’t feel like arguing anymore. Another glass of wine, maybe, and a hot bath to soothe away the tension of the day, but that’s it.

“You are, and you should be,” Supergirl sighs, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Lena an apologetic smile. “I did exactly what I promised I wouldn’t do today and hovered around L Corp like an over enthusiastic guard dog and I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Lena tries to assure her, feeling bad when Supergirl sends her a self-deprecating smile.

“It’s not really,” Supergirl replies before she admits. “I was worried. Worried that Lex would attack before we were ready for him and I didn’t want to risk you getting hurt. I was worried that if I allowed myself to be distracted by something else, I wouldn’t notice quickly enough if something was wrong. I can’t apologise for that, but I am sorry if I annoyed you, or worried you or any of your employees by flying by so often.”

“It’s fine,” Lena says again and finds that she means it this time. She knows that Supergirl takes her job seriously and she can’t help but feel warm that the hero was so worried about her, initial irritation aside. She hadn’t actually been worried by Supergirl’s presence after all, and neither had her employees. In fact, they had been delighted by it, much to Lena’s consternation, and Lena didn’t even want to think about the rumours that were now flying about, mentioned to her by an amused Jess. “I understand it’s not easy, this situation we’ve found ourselves in. This is new, for both of us, but I’m sure we’ll find a way to make it work, for however long this must last.”

Supergirl bites her lip, glancing away briefly before giving Lena a nervous look that has her stomach twisting strangely. “I may have a solution to that, actually. Something that might help.”

Lena raises an eyebrow as Supergirl reaches down to open a hidden compartment in her boot, taking out the object inside before holding it out for Lena’s inspection. It’s a watch, Lena is surprised to find, and Lena reaches out to take it slowly at Supergirl’s encouraging smile.

It’s nothing overly fancy, though it is still beautiful, with a smooth silver face and a soft brown leather band. Lena can’t help but glance up at Supergirl in confusion, who offers her a small grin before reaching out and pressing one of the small buttons on the side. The face of the watch opens to reveal another red button hidden inside and Lena blinks in surprise.

“It’s for if you’re in danger,” Supergirl says, her expression serious. “Or even if you are worried or feel like something is wrong. Press that button and I’ll come as quickly as I can.”

“Supergirl,” Lena murmurs, feeling strangely touched at the gift, even if it’s only temporary. “You don’t need to give me this.”

“I want to. It’ll make me feel better if you’re wearing it,” Supergirl says, though she has a strange look on her face as Lena tentatively clasps the watch around her wrist. The look disappears a moment later, to be hidden behind a cheeky smile. “Plus, if you have this, you won’t have to worry about me doing laps around your office. Outside of our check ins, that is.”

Lena can only roll her eyes as Supergirl offers her a cheerful goodbye before launching herself off the balcony and into the air with a crack. It’s a little while before Lena goes back inside, her eyes focused on the sky until it fades from red to black, absentmindedly rubbing her thumb over the face of her new watch as she loses herself in thoughts of a different time and a different place.


End file.
